This is concerning as much of turmeric curcumin in our supplements come from Bangladesh.
Summary: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s0013935119305195Study PDF: https://docdro.id/3kbrqct• Turmeric adulteration with lead chromate was assessed in Bangladesh.
• Turmeric Pb concentrations exceeded the national limit by up to 500 times.
• Evidence of turmeric adulteration was found in 7 of 9 turmeric-producing districts.
• Turmeric adulteration was found to be driven by consumer demand for yellow roots.
This is also concerning when taken together with this study from 2017:Ground Turmeric as a Source of Lead Exposure in the United States.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc5415259/We analyzed 32 samples using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry and found detectable levels of lead in all of the samples, with a median concentration of 0.11 ppm (range, 0.03-99.50 ppm; Figure). The FDA has published several recommended maximum levels of lead; however, the FDA has not established guidelines for lead levels in spices.28 Without such a guideline, we evaluated our results against the FDA’s maximum allowable level of lead in candy (0.1 ppm), which we concluded was the best available comparison food, despite differences in candy composition, consumption habits, and packaging.
We found that concentrations in 16 of the 32 samples exceeded the FDA’s allowable level of lead in candy, with 2 samples (34.78 and 99.50 ppm) exceeding the level by 2 orders of magnitude.